How to talk to media

By PTE John Wellfare

SGT Chris Brown talks to the local media at Exercise High Sierra at RAAF Base Townsville last year. Tips and skills on dealing with media interviews are covered in a new course.

Photo by CPL Kirk Peacock

PUBLIC affairs training within Defence will be formally recognised under nationally accredited training standards.

While Defence has conducted public affairs training for members in key leadership or advisory positions for several years, the new accreditation system will allow the awarding of Certificate III, Certificate IV and Diploma level qualifications for the courses undertaken.

Work is continuing to make an Advanced Diploma qualification available also.

Air Force Deputy Director Communication and Reputation Management Wing Commander Jo Elkington recently undertook the Defence Media Awareness and Skills Course, run by Coordination and Public Affairs Division.

The one-day course looked at preparing for interviews, delivering key messages and fielding questions.

It has been aimed at commanding officers and others likely to act as Defence spokespeople.

“Not only do you learn to identify the pitfalls of a poorly prepared interview, and what to be aware of, but you also practice some of the skills,” WGCDR Elkington said.

“You actually go through the scenario of putting the person who’s going to be the talking head on a particular topic, the interviewee, in front of a group of your staff and you pitch the questions that you think are going to be asked.

Because you’re aware of what’s going to happen, you’re better able to prepare [interviewees], so that when they face the camera they’ve already got that sentence out, that word, strange name or technical term. It all comes out more smoothly.

Or we might throw them a question that they hadn’t already thought of an answer to.”

The new public affairs accreditations were initiated by the Chiefs of Service Committee recommending that a military public affairs personal development and training system be introduced.

The qualifications have been endorsed by the ACT Accreditation and Registration Council.

WGCDR Elkington said the course would provide some vital skills. “I would recommend it specifically to commanders or to executives who provide advice on media management and public affairs.”

For course inquiries contact Richard Dittler on (02) 6265 7804 or email richard.dittler@defence.gov.au.

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